About ZBOS
ZBOS is building the operating system for modern businesses, bringing operations, payments and AI into one modular platform.
Think Square + Shopify + Toast, reimagined as a single AI-native platform that eliminates fragmented software and gives businesses one place to run everything.
We've already validated strong market demand with approximately $200 million in Expressions of Interest from established Australian hospitality businesses, built a fully interactive product prototype, and completed a comprehensive technical architecture for the platform.
Now we're assembling our founding engineering team to turn that vision into production software capable of powering thousands of businesses across Australia and beyond.
The Opportunity
This isn't another engineering job.
It's an opportunity to become one of the first technical leaders inside a company from day one.
You'll work directly alongside, an experienced enterprise technology leader who has architected the ZBOS platform from the ground up. The product vision, architecture and engineering specifications have already been established, allowing the engineering team to focus on what matters most, building exceptional software.
As one of our first technical hires, you'll help transform that architecture into a world-class production platform while influencing engineering culture, technical standards and the future direction of the company.
If you're excited by building products from first principles, solving difficult engineering challenges and creating technology with long-term impact, we'd love to meet you.
Responsibilities
- Lead the technical implementation of the ZBOS platform.
- Design and build scalable backend services and distributed systems.
- Develop production-quality software across the stack where required.
- Establish engineering standards, development workflows and best practices.
- Collaborate directly with the founders on technical strategy and product direction.
- Review code and mentor future engineering hires.
- Help recruit and build a world-class engineering team.
- Evaluate new technologies and make key architectural decisions.
- Build software designed to scale reliably as the company grows.
Requirements
- 8+ years of professional software engineering experience.
- Strong experience designing and building large-scale production systems.
- Deep understanding of software architecture and distributed systems.
- Strong backend engineering experience.
- Experience building modern SaaS or enterprise software.
- Excellent communication and technical leadership skills.
- Comfortable working in a fast-moving startup environment.
- A genuine desire to build something from the ground up.
Preferred Experience
- Principal Engineer, Staff Engineer or Technical Lead experience.
- Experience building high-scale SaaS platforms.
- TypeScript, Node.js, React and Next.js.
- PostgreSQL, Redis and Kafka.
- Docker, Kubernetes and AWS.
- CI/CD and cloud-native infrastructure.
- AI technologies including OpenAI and Anthropic APIs.
- Startup or scale-up experience.
- Experience at companies such as Atlassian, Canva, Block, Stripe, Airwallex, Xero, SafetyCulture, REA Group or similar.
Technology Stack
Our current technology stack includes:
- TypeScript
- React
- Next.js
- Node.js
- Fastify
- PostgreSQL
- Redis
- Kafka
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- AWS
- GitHub Actions
- OpenAI APIs
- Anthropic Claude APIs
Founding Equity & Compensation
Please read this section carefully before applying.
ZBOS is currently a pre-seed startup.
This is not a conventional salaried engineering position.
We're looking for engineers who genuinely want to build a company from the ground up and understand both the risks and rewards that come with joining at this stage.
Successful candidates will receive meaningful founding equity based on experience, expected contribution and long-term commitment.
At this stage, participation is equity-based. As ZBOS grows and subject to successful fundraising and the company's financial position, remuneration arrangements will be reviewed.
If you're primarily looking for an immediate salary or guaranteed cash compensation, this opportunity isn't the right fit.
We're deliberately looking for people who believe in the long-term vision and are prepared to take founder-level risk alongside us. We want builders, people who are excited by creating something extraordinary, not simply joining another job.
Why Join ZBOS?
- Become one of the first engineers in a company with global ambitions.
- Work directly alongside experienced founders from day one.
- Build from an already architected platform instead of starting with a blank page.
- Own major technical decisions that will shape the business for years to come.
- Help establish the engineering culture and technical standards from the beginning.
- Receive meaningful founding equity with significant long-term upside.
- Build software that has the potential to redefine how businesses operate.
Commitment
We're looking for someone who wants to make a significant contribution during the company's earliest stage.
Ideally, you'll be available for full-time involvement, although we're open to discussing suitable arrangements with exceptional candidates.
Application Question(s):
- How many years of professional software engineering experience do you have?
- Which technologies have you used to build production-ready software at scale?
- Tell us about the most technically challenging system you've architected or built. What was your role?
- Have you previously led engineering teams or acted as a Principal, Staff or Lead Engineer? If so, tell us about your experience.
- This is an early-stage founding opportunity where initial participation is equity-based rather than salary-based. Are you genuinely comfortable with this arrangement? If yes, what motivates you to join a company at this stage?
- Why do you want to become a founding engineer rather than join an established technology company?
- If selected, what would you hope to accomplish during your first six months at ZBOS?
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Melbourne VIC 3000
